A Christmas Proposal
by Feline Feral
Summary: It's Christmas Day and Jesse has a question for Shalimar.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Mutant X characters. This is for entertainment purposes only, no infringement is intended.

**Notes:** This fic was written for my friend Brenda as a 2005 Christmas present. Thanks go out to Alex for reading it over for me.

**A Christmas Proposal**

It was Christmas Eve in Sanctuary and no creatures or mice were stirring but one person was. Jesse Kilmartin paced around the living room trying to decide how to go about a very important something. Fidgeting he played around with the velvet box he had in his hand, moving form one hand to the other. Jesse was trying to figure out the best way to ask his girlfriend and long time best friend, Shalimar Fox to marry him. He wanted to do it in private on Christmas Day but with the plans everyone had set up he'd never get the chance.

Sighing Jesse plopped gracelessly down onto the couch that sat across from the Christmas tree and stared at the thing. The tree itself wasn't very big—it hardly reached the ceiling—but it was full of every decoration and piece of tinsel imaginable. It wasn't lit right now but when it was the sheer magnitude of the lights was enough to blind someone. The tree was a rather good imitation of a real one because Jesse and Brennan both happened to be allergic to the real ones, which had moderately bummed Emma and Shalimar. Well at least until they were put in charge of the decorating. Reaching over Jesse plugged in the tree and looked at the lights.

He didn't know how long he stayed there watching but it had to have been a while. Emma entered the room quietly, having woken up thirsty but on her way to the kitchen spying the lights.

"Jesse?" Emma asked, hiding a smirk when Jesse jumped.

"Yes Emma?" Jesse responded, futilely trying to hide the fact that she had startled him.

"What are you doing up? It's 2 in the morning," Emma said, taking a seat beside him.

Jesse shifted so that he was sitting up, "I was thinking."

Emma chuckled, "Really? It looked more like sleeping to me." At Jesse's glare Emma asked, "What about?"

Jesse was silent for a couple of moments, "About how to ask Shal to marry me." He held the small ring box he still had in his hand to Emma.

Emma nodded and took the box. Opening it she looked at the ring, "It's beautiful Jesse." The ring was a heart shaped diamond surrounded on either side by two light-pink gemstones.

"Yeah, but I have no idea how to ask her," Jesse said, taking the ring back.

Emma laughed for a second and then said, "You get down on one knee and ask 'Shalimar will you marry me?' It's really quite simple."

Again Jesse glared at Emma, "You know you are really not helping matters much."

Emma shrugged, "I have an idea it you want, Jesse."

At Jesse's affirmative nodded Emma told him her idea and he quickly agreed to it. It was a very neat idea. Not long after that Jesse finished setting up what needed to be set-up then turned off the Christmas trees lights and both he and Emma went back to bed.

Much later on Christmas Day the group was in the living room trying to banish sleep from their eyes. Brennan and Emma were nursing cups of coffee, while Adam, Shal and Jesse had gone for the hot chocolate instead. The group was sporadically spaced in the room. Brennan was wedged in the left corner of the couch with Adam in the other and Emma was standing by the tree. Shal was sitting in the beanbag chair that occupied the corner beside the couch and Jesse was trying to curl himself up in the chair.

"Hey!" Brennan said to Jesse, "You can't go back to sleep."

Jesse grumbled, "Why not?"

Emma shook her head, "Because it's time to open the presents that are under the tree."

Slowly everyone move out of their seats and began to organize the presents. Soon each person had a small pile of gifts in front of their seats and Adam had gotten a garbage bag for the wrapping paper. Jesse, as he was passing by Shal's beanbag chair situated her things so that a small plain wrapped box would be the last thing she opened.

Everyone took turns un-wrapping their gifts and thanking the proper person. Jesse got increasingly nervous as time went on. Brennan and Adam looked at Jesse in confusion while Emma looked on in mild amusement. It wasn't long until the only thing left to open was the small box in front of Shal. Shalimar picked it up and carefully un-wrapped it, curious as to what it was—she had already gotten a gift from everyone.

Jesse carefully made his way to Shal and sat down beside her as she opened the box. Shal gasped in surprise and looked at Jesse who took a deep breath and asked quietly, "Will you marry me?" Shal blinked a couple of times but didn't respond. Just before Jesse could get worried Shal launched herself the short distance left between them into Jesse's arms. Jesse let out a sigh of relief, taking Shal's reaction as a good thing.

Shal let go of him and looked into his eyes and said the words he had been waiting to hear for days, "Yes Jesse, I will marry you."

Both of them jumped when Adam, Brennan and Emma started clapping—they had forgotten they weren't alone. Adam and Emma expressed their congratulations as Jesse took the ring from its box and slipped it on Shalimar's finger. Brennan, however, shouted out, "Kiss her."

Jesse and Shal laughed at Brennan but did as requested; they really didn't have to be told twice. It was a sweet and short kiss, one that showed the love between the two.

When the two separated Shal moved from the beanbag chair into Jesse's lap where he then wrapped his arms around her. The others had settled back into their seats, Emma taking the chair Jesse had vacated.

"That was a neat idea Jesse," Shal said, "wrapping the ring as a present."

Jesse smiled. "You should thank Emma for that. I was up at 2 am wondering what to do."

Shal smiled, "No wonder you are falling a sleep again." She turned to Emma, "Thanks."

Emma laughed, "Not a problem. I didn't want him staying up all night freaking out."

Jesse blushed, "I was not freaking out."

"You were pretty dang close to it." Emma said, getting up to retrieve the movie they were planning on watching. Looking at the case Emma started laughing hysterically, they hadn't know which movie...it had been a random draw the night before—Adam being the only one who knew.

Brennan put down his coffee cup and raised his eyebrows, "Are you alright Emma?"

Emma shook her head, tears in her eyes, "Yeah, look at which movie we are watching." She passed the case to Brennan, who looked at the case and laughed too.

Shal was getting agitated and moved out of Jesse's arms to grab the DVD case. "What movie is it!" When she finally looked at the case and showed Jesse everyone was laughing for the movie was _My_ _Big Fat Greek Wedding_.

The End


End file.
